The Toolbox crew was unable to blackmail Pez into revealing his secret family recipe for the turkey stuffing that’s responsible for Mrs. Pez marrying him. Instead, how about a holiday recipe for energy bars that will keep you going with good nutrition for a fraction of the cost of what’s available on the market?

We ran this story last year, but it’s worth eating again…

Happy holidays! If you’re like me at this time of year, the intense training volume can lead to some serious hunger. There is no doubt that as your intensity increases so does the amount of food you need to consume in order for your body to adapt to the training stimuli. This can lead to some huge grocery bills! Plowing through a box of energy bars in 2-3 days sure doesn’t help. Therefore, I’ve developed a recipe for a more economical and more nutritious alternative to store-bought energy bars that are often high in sugar with questionable glycemic indices.

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Spread out in a lightly greased baking pan and bake @ 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 28-30 minutes. Enjoy!

Tip: You can adjust the sugar content of the recipe to reflect how you want to use the bars. Example: For a post ride or race carbohydrate replacement bar, use glucose (high GI) as the primary sugar instead of honey, brown sugar, and molasses. For a recovery bar add some protein powder in a 1:4 ratio to sugars/carbohydrate.

Questions or comments? Visit Frank at www.FasCatCoaching.com Frank is a USA cycling certified coach and category 1 racer that can be found in and around Boulder, CO sneaking through old family recipes when nobody’s looking.